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2003–04 Port Vale F.C. season

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Port Vale
2003–04 season
OwnerValiant 2001
ChairmanBill Bratt
ManagerBrian Horton
(until 12 February)
Martin Foyle
(from 13 February)
StadiumVale Park
Football League Second Division7th (73 Points)
FA CupSecond Round
(knocked out by Scarborough)
League CupFirst Round
(knocked out by Nottingham Forest)
Football League TrophyFirst Round
(knocked out by Scarborough)
Player of the YearStephen McPhee
Top goalscorerLeague: Stephen McPhee (25)
All: Stephen McPhee (27)
Highest home attendance7,958 vs. Sheffield Wednesday, 7 February 2004
Lowest home attendance4,016 vs. Ford United, 8 November 2003
Average home league attendance5,810
Biggest win5–1 vs. Grimsby Town, 17 January 2004
Biggest defeat1–5 vs. Plymouth Argyle, 18 October 2003

The 2003–04 season was Port Vale's 92nd season of football in the English Football League and fourth-successive season (41st overall) in the Second Division. Brian Horton resigned in February, and was replaced by Martin Foyle. Vale fought for promotion but finished outside the play-off zone on goal difference. In the FA Cup, Vale narrowly avoided humiliation by beating non-League Ford United after the replay went to extra time. However, Vale exited in the Second Round with a defeat to Conference club Scarborough, who also knocked the Vale out of the Football League Trophy in the First Round. Vale also left the League Cup at the First Round stage. Stephen McPhee was Player of the Year and top-scorer with 27 goals, but he left the club at the end of the season to play abroad. Financial problems still hounded the club, and Chairman Bill Bratt was desperate to attract investment from fans.[1] However, he was unwilling to allow one person to have more than 50% of the club's shares.[2]

Overview

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Second Division

[edit]

The pre-season saw Brian Horton bring in three key players on free transfers: George Pilkington (Everton);[3] Jonny Brain (Newcastle United);[4] and Austrian Andreas Lipa (Skoda Xanthi).[5] Meanwhile, promising keeper Mark Goodlad began a lengthy period on the sidelines with injuries.[6] Optimism surrounded the club, after the rebuilding of the new squad appeared to had finished after the break-up of the club's previous team due to financial troubles.[7]

The season opened with seven wins in eleven games, earning Brian Horton the Manager of the Month award.[8] The last of these victories was a 3–0 win over Peterborough United on 30 September, with McPhee scoring two goals after being to the central striker position from out wide.[9] Though this was followed by a sequence of five defeats in eight games as the goals dried up, this run included a 5–1 thumping at home to Plymouth Argyle. They responded to this defeat with a 2–0 win over title-favourites Queens Park Rangers as goals from Paynter and McPhee secured the three points despite a red card for Rowland after he put in a two-footed challenge on Marcus Bean.[10] In November, backup keeper Dean Delany joined Macclesfield Town on a two-month loan. Vale then were in patchy form until March, though the side managed to do the double over Sheffield Wednesday. Brian Horton resigned in February, with the club in the play-offs.[11] His replacement was former Vale legend Martin Foyle, whose only previous experience was in the club's youth set-up.[12] As his assistant he appointed former teammate, Dean Glover, another club legend.[13] In March, Foyle made his first signing, bringing defender Craig James on loan from Sunderland,[14] and after a few weeks he signed him permanently.[15] Mark Boyd headed out of the club however, and was allowed to sign with Carlisle United. Vale lost just two of their final twelve games and ran close to a play-off place, only losing out due to their inferior goal difference. They won 2–0 at Rushden & Diamonds on the final day, but Swindon Town and Hartlepool United played out a 1–1 draw to ensure they both finished in the play-offs instead of Vale.[16]

They finished in seventh place with 73 points. They were level on points with Hartlepool United and Swindon Town but finished outside of the play-off zone due to their inferior goal difference. Stephen McPhee scored 27 goals to become the club's top-scorer, the highest tally since Andy Jones hit 37 in 1986–87. Other major contributions came from Billy Paynter (14), Steve Brooker (8), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (7) and Adrian Littlejohn (7).

At the end of the season several players left the club: Neil Brisco (Rochdale); Liam Burns (Bristol Rovers); Adrian Littlejohn (Lincoln City); and Dean Delany (Shelbourne).[17] Stephen McPhee also decided to leave the club, and though Chairman Bill Bratt had rejected offers of £100,000 for the player,[18] McPhee exploited a loophole in his contract to join Portuguese side Beira-Mar.[19] Marc Bridge-Wilkinson also turned down a new lower-paying contract, and instead signed with Stockport County.[20] Player-coach Ian Brightwell also left Vale Park, having lost his assistant manager role to Glover,[21] and joined Horton at Macclesfield Town.[22] One boost was that Billy Paynter and George Pilkington put pen to paper on new long-term deals.[23]

Finances

[edit]

Peter Walker was appointed as Chief Executive in August 2003, having volunteered to work for free for six months. One feature of the season proved to be the long-running courtroom battle between former chairman Bill Bell and owners Valiant2001 over unpaid rent on the club shop. The club's finances were still worrying for supporters, though the problem appeared to have eased by the end of the season.[24]

In December, a Peter Jackson-led consortium put a £150,000 investment into the club, which Bratt said "...ensures the future of the club is safe".[25] The club also rejected other investment proposals from confidential sources.[26] Vice-chairman Charles Machin recommended the board sell the club to Italian businessman Gianni Paladini for £530,000, but the board disagreed.[27] In March 2004, Machin and director Geoff Wakefield were voted off the board, as the 'Jackson Five' clique elected Peter Jackson and Stan Meigh in their place.[27] Machin said that "I will not go away. I will haunt the corridors of power like Marley's ghost".[27] However, he was never elected back onto the board.[27]

Cup competitions

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In the FA Cup, Vale risked humiliation in a 2–2 draw with non-League Ford United at Vale Park.[28] In the replay, Vale had led 1–0 before a last minute equaliser took the game into extra time. Despite having substitute Ian Armstrong's sent off, the "Valiants" escaped the lottery of the penalty shoot-out when on 114 minutes Ford scored an own goal.[29] However, in the Second Round they were still eliminated by a non-League club, when Scarborough's Ashley Sestanovich scored an 80th-minute winner at Vale Park.[30] This was the first time a League side had been beaten twice in the same season by the same non-League opponents.[31]

In the League Cup, Vale faced First Division Nottingham Forest. They held Forest to a goalless draw but were eliminated 3–2 in the subsequent penalty shoot-out.

In the Football League Trophy, Vale travelled to the McCain Stadium, where they were defeated 2–1 by Conference club Scarborough.[32]

League table

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Main article: 2003–04 Football League

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
5 Swindon Town 46 20 13 13 76 58 +18 73 Qualification for the Second Division play-offs
6 Hartlepool United 46 20 13 13 76 61 +15 73
7 Port Vale 46 21 10 15 73 63 +10 73
8 Tranmere Rovers 46 17 16 13 59 56 +3 67
9 Bournemouth 46 17 15 14 56 51 +5 66
Source: [33]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Results

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Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Second Division

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Results by matchday

[edit]
Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAAHAHAAHAHHHAHHAAAAHHAHHAHAHAHA
ResultWWWLWDWLWDWLLLWDLWLDDWDLWWLLWWLWLLDWDWDLWLDWWW
Position82141311111336347577578126499757579979767777777
Source: Statto[34]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

[edit]
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
9 August 2003 A.F.C. Bournemouth H 2–1 6,465 McPhee, Littlejohn
16 August 2003 Grimsby Town A 2–1 4,816 McPhee, Paynter
23 August 2003 Colchester United H 4–3 5,133 Collins, Paynter, Armstrong, McPhee
25 August 2003 Hartlepool United A 0–2 5,314
30 August 2003 Brentford H 1–0 5,257 Paynter
6 September 2003 Stockport County A 2–2 5,316 Paynter, Collins
13 September 2003 Barnsley H 3–1 7,809 Lipa, Pilkington, Littlejohn
16 September 2003 Luton Town A 0–2 5,079
20 September 2003 Bristol City A 1–0 11,369 Paynter
27 September 2003 Wycombe Wanderers H 1–1 6,822 McPhee
30 September 2003 Peterborough United H 3–0 5,495 McPhee (2), Collins
4 October 2003 Wrexham A 1–2 5,822 Paynter
11 October 2003 Oldham Athletic A 1–2 6,913 Bridge-Wilkinson (pen)
18 October 2003 Plymouth Argyle H 1–5 5,786 McPhee
21 October 2003 Queens Park Rangers H 2–0 5,243 Paynter, McPhee
25 October 2003 Swindon Town A 0–0 5,313
1 November 2003 Chesterfield A 0–1 4,088
15 November 2003 Notts County H 1–0 4,900 McPhee
22 November 2003 Tranmere Rovers A 0–1 7,081
29 November 2003 Rushden & Diamonds H 1–1 4,586 Littlejohn
12 December 2003 Brighton & Hove Albion A 1–1 5,811 Littlejohn
26 December 2003 Sheffield Wednesday A 3–2 24,991 Littlejohn, Paynter, Brooker
28 December 2003 Stockport County H 2–2 6,237 McPhee (2)
10 January 2004 A.F.C. Bournemouth A 1–2 5,926 McPhee
14 January 2004 Blackpool H 2–1 4,523 Brooker, Bridge-Wilkinson
17 January 2004 Grimsby Town H 5–1 5,133 Bridge-Wilkinson (2), Lipa, Collins, Paynter
27 January 2004 Hartlepool United H 2–5 4,845 Brooker, Cummins
31 January 2004 Brentford A 2–3 4,306 McPhee (2)
7 February 2004 Sheffield Wednesday H 3–0 7,958 Littlejohn, McPhee, Brooker
14 February 2004 Oldham Athletic H 1–0 6,035 McPhee
21 February 2004 Plymouth Argyle A 1–2 11,330 McPhee
24 February 2004 Colchester United A 4–1 2,539 Brooker, Brown (og), Cummins, Bridge-Wilkinson
2 March 2004 Queens Park Rangers A 2–3 12,593 Brooker, Littlejohn
6 March 2004 Blackpool A 1–2 6,878 Paynter
13 March 2004 Brighton & Hove Albion H 1–1 5,646 Paynter
16 March 2004 Luton Town H 1–0 5,048 Cummins
20 March 2004 Barnsley A 0–0 8,267
27 March 2004 Bristol City H 2–1 6,724 Brooker, Bridge-Wilkinson
30 March 2004 Swindon Town H 3–3 5,702 McPhee (2), Paynter
3 April 2004 Wycombe Wanderers A 1–2 4,738 McPhee
10 April 2004 Wrexham H 1–0 5,892 Cummins
12 April 2004 Peterborough United A 1–3 4,988 Bridge-Wilkinson
17 April 2004 Chesterfield H 1–1 5,582 Paynter
24 April 2004 Notts County A 2–1 5,834 McPhee, Brooker
1 May 2004 Tranmere Rovers H 2–1 6,806 McPhee (2)
8 May 2004 Rushden & Diamonds A 2–0 5,240 McPhee (2)

FA Cup

[edit]
Main article: 2003–04 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 8 November 2003 Ford United H 2–2 4,016 McPhee, Burns
R1 Replay 19 November 2003 Ford United A 2–1 ? Paynter, Chandler (og)
R2 7 December 2003 Scarborough H 0–1 4,651

League Cup

[edit]
Main article: 2003–04 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 12 October 2003 Nottingham Forest H (2)0–0(3) 4,950

Football League Trophy

[edit]
Main article: 2003–04 Football League Trophy
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 14 October 2003 Scarborough A 1–2 1,003 McPhee

Player statistics

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Appearances and goals

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Pos. # Name Football League FA Cup League Cup Football League Trophy Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK 1 England Mark Goodlad 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF 2 England George Pilkington 44 1 3 0 1 0 1 0 49 1
DF 3 England Ian Brightwell 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0
DF 4 Austria Andreas Lipa 30 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 33 2
DF 5 England Michael Walsh 13 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 14 0
DF 6 England Sam Collins 43 4 3 0 1 0 1 0 47 4
MF 7 England Neil Brisco 27 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 30 0
MF 8 Republic of Ireland Micky Cummins 42 4 2 0 1 0 1 0 46 4
FW 9 England Steve Brooker 32 8 1 0 1 0 0 0 34 8
FW 10 Scotland Stephen McPhee 46 25 3 1 1 0 1 1 51 27
MF 11 England Marc Bridge-Wilkinson 32 7 2 0 1 0 1 0 36 7
GK 12 England Dean Delany 14 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 15 0
MF 13 England Levi Reid 11 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
MF 15 England Ian Armstrong 20 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 22 1
DF 16 Wales Steve Rowland 29 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 30 0
MF 17 Trinidad and Tobago Chris Birchall 10 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
FW 18 England Billy Paynter 44 13 2 1 1 0 1 0 48 14
FW 19 England Simon Eldershaw 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF 20 England Adrian Littlejohn 36 7 3 0 1 0 1 0 41 7
DF 21 Northern Ireland Liam Burns 27 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 30 1
DF 22 England Ryan Brown 17 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 18 0
GK 23 England Joe Molloy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GK 24 England Jonny Brain 32 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 36 0
DF 25 England Craig James 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Players that left the club mid-season:
MF 14 England Mark Boyd 22 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 26 0

Top scorers

[edit]
Place Position Nation Number Name Second Division FA Cup League Cup Football League Trophy Total
1 FW  Scotland 10 Stephen McPhee 25 1 0 1 27
2 FW  England 18 Billy Paynter 13 1 0 0 14
3 FW  England 9 Steve Brooker 8 0 0 0 8
4 MF  England 11 Marc Bridge-Wilkinson 7 0 0 0 7
– MF  England 20 Adrian Littlejohn 7 0 0 0 7
6 MF  Ireland 8 Micky Cummins 4 0 0 0 4
– DF  England 6 Sam Collins 4 0 0 0 4
8 DF  Austria 4 Andreas Lipa 2 0 0 0 2
9 DF  England 2 George Pilkington 1 0 0 0 1
– MF  England 15 Ian Armstrong 1 0 0 0 1
– DF  Northern Ireland 21 Liam Burns 0 1 0 0 1
– – – Own goals 1 1 0 0 2
TOTALS 73 4 0 1 78

Transfers

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Transfers in

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Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
June 2003 DF Austria Andreas Lipa Greece Skoda Xanthi Free transfer [35]
June 2003 DF England George Pilkington Everton Free transfer [35]
August 2003 GK England Jonny Brain Carlisle United Free transfer [35]
March 2004 DF England Craig James Sunderland Free transfer [35]

Transfers out

[edit]
Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
March 2004 MF England Mark Boyd Carlisle United Free transfer [35]
May 2004 DF England Ian Brightwell Macclesfield Town Free transfer [35]
May 2004 DF Northern Ireland Liam Burns Bristol Rovers Released [35]
May 2004 GK Republic of Ireland Dean Delany Republic of Ireland Shelbourne Free transfer [35]
June 2004 MF England Marc Bridge-Wilkinson Stockport County Rejected contract [35]
June 2004 MF England Neil Brisco Rochdale Free transfer [35]
June 2004 FW Scotland Stephen McPhee Portugal Beira-Mar Bosman transfer [35]
August 2004 MF England Adrian Littlejohn Lincoln City Free transfer [35]

Loans out

[edit]
Date from Position Nationality Name To Date to Ref.
27 November 2003 GK Republic of Ireland Dean Delany Macclesfield Town 14 January 2004 [35]

References

[edit]
Specific
  1. ^ "Axe hovers over Valiants". BBC Sport. 10 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  2. ^ "Vale fans fail to buy club". BBC Sport. 22 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Vale land Pilkington". BBC Sport. 24 June 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  4. ^ "Vale sign young keeper". BBC Sport. 22 August 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  5. ^ "Vale net Lipa". BBC Sport. 9 June 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  6. ^ "Goodlad blow for Vale". BBC Sport. 24 July 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  7. ^ "Port Vale season preview". BBC Sport. 5 August 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  8. ^ "Valiant Horton Picks Up Prize". LMA. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  9. ^ Baggaley, Mike (30 September 2024). "Home comforts in a big week". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  10. ^ Baggaley, Mike (23 October 2024). "Vale make it four in a row". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Horton leaves Port Vale". BBC Sport. 12 February 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  12. ^ "Port Vale appoint Foyle". BBC Sport. 13 February 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  13. ^ "Glover back at Vale". BBC Sport. 16 February 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  14. ^ "James joins Vale on loan". BBC Sport. 19 March 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  15. ^ "James signs Vale contract". BBC Sport. 2 April 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  16. ^ Baggaley, Mike (9 May 2024). "Why Vale are determined pitch investment will pay off". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Foyle releases Vale trio". BBC Sport. 11 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  18. ^ "Vale reject McPhee offer". BBC Sport. 4 June 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  19. ^ "McPhee moving to Portugal". BBC Sport. 17 June 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  20. ^ "Bridge-Wilkinson makes move". BBC Sport. 8 June 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  21. ^ "Vale search for new coach". BBC Sport. 26 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  22. ^ "Brightwell leaves Vale". BBC Sport. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  23. ^ "Duo boost Port Vale". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  24. ^ "Financial boost for Vale". BBC Sport. 14 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  25. ^ "Consortium saves Port Vale". BBC Sport. 30 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  26. ^ "Vale set for takeover talks". BBC Sport. 15 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  27. ^ a b c d What If There Had Been No Port In The Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories! p.179 (Witan Books, 2011, ISBN 978-0-9529152-8-7)
  28. ^ "Port Vale 2-2 Ford Utd". BBC Sport. 8 November 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  29. ^ "Ford Utd 1-2 Port Vale (aet)". BBC Sport. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  30. ^ "Port Vale 0-1 Scarborough". BBC Sport. 7 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  31. ^ Baggaley, Mike (7 December 2023). "Injuries, plans and Exeter challenge for Port Vale". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  32. ^ "Scarborough 2-1 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 14 October 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  33. ^ "England 2003–04". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  34. ^ Port Vale 2003–2004 : Results & Fixtures Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  35. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Port Vale FC Club Details | Transfers | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
General
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